Forearm Training

Man I see some guys with these massive forearms that are crazy vascular and am curious if anybody has some good exercises to get these twigs to pop.

a lot of various wrist curls/extensions, farmers walks, and plate grips for time. deadlifts helped my grip strength but not really the development of my forearms. I've only done deads a handful of times this training cycle (the last year) and my grip strength is absolutely terrible now. my grip starts failing doing rack pulls of 225 for 15 and i used to be able to hold onto 400lb deads no problem for my working sets. forearms, calves, and legs are going to be my main emphasis when i start my next training phase for 8 months straight.

I train my forearms once a week while doing biceps. I feel if I want them to grow I better work them.

Best way to make your forearms grow and be strong is to hold heavy shit. Farmer walks are king.

You might incorporate some Fat Gripz into your dumbbell work. Or get a "Captains of Crush" gripper and use it while watching tv. The knurling is a little sharp on them though, imo.

I grew my forearms mainly from doing heavy deadlifts. Don't use lifting straps, if you cant hold the weight, you shouldn't be trying to lift it. unless you're a power lifter with 900lbs on the bar, then you can use straps lol. Other than deadlifts, do wrist curls in both manners, with palm up and palm down. Hammer curls will also help put some meat on your forearms.

I just got some fat gripz hope these help. Heard great things about them

Reverse curls and hammer curls. Do them!

Heavy farmer walks as mentioned above.

Heavy back training and behind the back wrist curls seem to do the job.

I like grip work (I use grippers in the car, while doing cardio, while watching TV, at work desk, etc.)
Wrist curls, reverse curls (using a thick bar makes a difference), wrist roller, etc. Plenty to do to work them hard...

I incorporate a climbers hangboard into my training 3 times a week.. every other day. It works wonders for grip/forearm strength. Check it out.

I still go oldschool. A small bar with a rope tied to plates. Walk the rope up and down over and over. Arms held out in front of me. My dad used to do it when I was a kid. Look like popeye!

jozifp103 said:

I'm with you bro. Genetically I'm cursed with tiny forearms and calves. It looks silly with big arms and shoulders. I can get them nice and pumped and vascular during training but when they're cold they are pathetic. I'll admit I don't train forearms exclusively. I rely on secondary stimulation from other workouts. This is for 2 reasons...1.) I've been told by so many that you really don't need to train forearms because they will grow from secondary stimulation. 2.) I simply can't bring myself to get to the gym any earlier to spend an extra 20 mins at the end of my routine doing wrist curls.

Click to expand...

You aren't alone...I also have shitty forearm genetics and even doing wrist curls for hours on end still can't get them to grow. I am also cursed with fatboy calves and rather small hands and that's a downer.

Twist ups using a bar and a band with a 5-10 lb plate hanging from the band is excellent I usually do this as a superset with standing unilateral bicep curls or for an even more intense forearm pump do it with heavy dumbbell farmers carries. This is great for grip strength as well.

Barbell wrist curls behind the back. I do these every work out, and have put on some crazy size and vascularity to my forearms.

Everything about grip exercises is great. That stuff is all true. Deadlifts and farmers carries are enormously beneficial. Same with the wrist curl and the weighted rope comments; all true. One other thing that can helps to add pressure. Push-ups on your fists or while holding a dumbbell / push-up grip allow you to apply a fair amount of pressure to your wrist and forearm areas while performing basic push-ups. They can also be a great way to incorporate forearms on a push / chest day.

Alot of good advice here, some of my favorite ways to train forearms is grab a straight barbell with a weight you're comfortable doing 10-20reps on. Rest your elbows on hour thighs and be in almost a "hover" seated position, think of what a girl looks like when she wants to piss in a public toilet without sitting on the seat lol. And I grab the bar with a close grip hands 6-8 inches apart and let the bat roll to your fingertips and roll it back up and really squeeze the forearm at the top. Then I'll move to one handed dumbbell wrist curls using the back of a chair for some support. +1 on reverse curls and hammer curls as well. Another good one for the other side is to find a preacher curl bar. Set the height so your arms are almost flat parallel with the pad with just a slight tilt forward. Grab an easy curl bar (only need very light weight for this they burn like a mf). 25 or 35lbs and curl your knucles back towards your face and the tops of those forearms should be smoked.

People that work with their hands for a living like my father never train forearms they're just insane he's like a mini Frank McGrath. I have to train them directly, not because mine are bad, but because I think big forearms look very powerful and masculine. Always been one of my favorites to train. It's a same I barely ever see anyone in the gym actually train them